One proposed structure of a driving device includes a motor, a transmission, a first coupling mechanism for coupling a rotating shaft of the motor with an input shaft of the transmission and releasing the coupling, a second coupling mechanism for coupling the rotating shaft of the motor with a driveshaft and releasing the coupling, and a third coupling mechanism for coupling an output shaft of the transmission with the driveshaft and releasing the coupling (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this prior art driving device, the power transmission pathway is switched over between power transmission of the output power of the motor to the driveshaft via the transmission in the coupled conditions of the first coupling mechanism and the third coupling mechanism and in the released condition of the second coupling mechanism and direct transmission of the output power of the motor to the driveshaft in the released conditions of the first coupling mechanism and the third coupling mechanism and in the coupled condition of the second coupling mechanism.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 2005-145145